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Butler and Valparaiso are both fighting for at-large NCAA Tournament berths.
It was a rough night for both Summit League teams in the state of Indiana Thursday night. Not only did Oakland escape with a 71-69 lead over North Dakota State, the Jaguars and Mastodons each lost, giving the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and an automatic bid in the NIT if they lose the conference tournament.
Both Indiana teams in the Summit League are in action tonight as they head toward the conference tournament. Early in the second half IUPUI leads 42-37 against Southern Utah at home. Leroy Nobles has 16 points already to lead that Jaguars, who are chasing Oakland in the league standings. The Jags are even getting some help, as the golden Grizzlies only lead North Dakota State by one at the half.
In Ft. Wayne the Mastodons of IPFW, who are trying to hang on to third place in the league, are down 46-32 early int he second half against South Dakota State. The Mastodons are only hitting 12% from long range.
The Butler Bulldogs keep winning after their disastrous loss to Youngstown State, and a soft Bubble has found them climbing back into NCAA Tournament consideration. The Bulldogs leadoff this week's update ont he Mid-Major teams around the state:
One of the marquee matchups nationally in the ESPN BracketBusters series will occur in the state this weekend as Valparaiso hosts Missouri State. Both teams have ties to Indiana. The Crusaders have seen their RPI move into the top 50 while Missouri State is coached by former Purdue great Cuonzo Martin. It is the highlight of a busy week for Indiana's mid-major programs.
Tuesday
Toledo (4-21, 1-10) at Ball State (14-10, 6-5)
The Cardinals have struggled of late in MAC play, but they should have an easy home victory Tuesday night at Worthen Arena. Toledo has just three wins against Division I competition, but one of those was against Valparaiso. Ball State has lost six of its last seven, but they are still only half a game out of the lead in the MAC West Division. Randy Davis is one of the nation's assist leaders at 5.4 per game.
Wichita State (21-5, 12-3) at Evansville (14-11, 8-7)
The Shockers already have a dominant 34 point win over the Purple Aces in Wichita, so this will be a challenge for Evansville. Wichita State leads the Missouri Valley Conference with Missouri State, and no one else is really even close at the moment. Evansville needs to find a way to get Kenny Harris back on track, as he has struggled of late.
Butler (18-9, 10-5) at Wisconsin-Green Bay (12-14, 6-8)
Amazingly, the Bulldogs are not done in their chase for the Horizon League title. They trailed Valparaiso by only a game and a half, so if they can keep winning and get some help they might still have a say in things. The Phoenix only lost by six at Hinkle Fieldhouse earlier in the year, so Butler will likely have a difficult time on the road. Butler may finally be turning things around, as they are on a four game winning streak, their longest since a six-game streak in late December. Another win may not be enough to renew at-large NCAA hopes, but with an RPI of 45 you never know.
Wednesday
Valparaiso (19-7, 11-3) at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (15-11, 10-5)
The best thing that Valpo can do to help its at-large chances is win the regular season title in the Horizon League. That would put the conference tournament on their home floor. The Crusaders hold a half-game lead over Cleveland State with four league games to play. Valpo already beat the Panthers 60-43 at home, so a road victory would help greatly.
Indiana State (14-12, 9-6) at Southern Illinois (11-15, 5-10)
The Sycamores are probably out of the Missouri Valley title chase, but they can still position themselves for a good seed in the conference tournament in St. Louis. Once there, stealing the automatic NCAA Tournament bid is possible. The Trees have three conference games left, but two are against Southern Illinois and one is against Northern Iowa, who is tied with ISU for third place.
Thursday
Southern Utah (8-17, 4-10) at IUPUI (16-11, 10-4)
Last week's loss at South Dakota State all but handed the Summit League title to Oakland, as the Golden Grizzlies lead IUPUI by three games with four to play. The Jaguars can still secure the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, however. Alex Young and Leroy Nobles have been on a tear of late. Young had 24 in last week's win over North Dakota State.
South Dakota State (17-9, 9-6) at IPFW (16-9, 9-5)
The Mastodons played a solid game this weekend at Oakland, but still fell by eight. They now find themselves in a dogfight with the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State for third place in the league. Frank Gaines scored 27 in the loss to Oakland, making him the leading scorer for the ‘Dons. This game and Saturday's home game against North Dakota State are the final two home games of the year for IPFW.
Saturday BracketBusters:
Missouri State at Valparaiso
This is the biggest game for Indiana's mid-majors. Missouri State has already won 20 games and Valpo is only one away. The winner will likely be one of the strongest at-large NCAA Tournament candidates in the country. They are very close in RPI (Missouri State is 46, Valpo is 48), so this should be a fantastic game.
BracketBusters: Indiana Mid-Majors Have Mixed Results
Indiana's Mid-Major programs had a decent showing in Saturday's ESPN BrackBusters event. the team that may have helped itself was Valparaiso, who played one of the marquee matchups in the event and notched a big home win.
Feb 19 9:08p by Travis Miller - 0 comments